Roland Attacks MT-32 Emulator Project

canadacow writes "The MT-32 emulation project, which is an offshoot of the DosBox project recently received a cease and desist letter regarding the use of the PCM samples from the synthesizer. Normally this would be an open and shut case, but it just so happens that U.S. Copyright law (specifically 17 U.S.C. section 405) shows that Roland lost their copyright because nowhere did they explicity register it, and registering (or atleast copyright marking) was required before 1989. The MT-32, of course, was produced in 1987. You can find more details at the emulation forum on Vogons" In particular, read through this thread for Canadacow's response to Roland's lawyers, for the type of response that most lawyers probably don't expect from most programmers.

Comments

Bizarre for a synth

[tgv]

For those of you who don't know: the MT-32 is a synthesizer module. So it's normal use is to generate sounds that people are going to use on commercial records. If you buy the box, you get the sounds. There are tons of sample CDs out there that contain samples of Roland instruments. So why is the PCM (sound) set of an MT-32 suddenly such a problem to them?

Sad

[jd]

It realy is sad. The MT-32 is old. The LAPC-1 was an ISA card, and I am unaware of any PCI version of this particular hardware series.

Having said that, thse devices blew the competition out of the water, at the time. The LAPC-1's sounds were vastly superior to the early Soundblasters. There was absolutely no serious alternative, if you wanted good music.

That earned Roland a lot of respect, at the time. If you wanted to play the original Wing Commander, you used the LAPC-1 for the music, if you wanted even remotely acceptable quality, or any credibility with other games players.

Since then, Roland have not done anything to keep up the momentum. They could have crushed Soundblaster so badly, that Creative simply ceased to exist. They could have improved their MIDI interface, keeping pace with the evolving standards. They could have moved to 20-bit sound even then, and be into 24-bit or 26-bit sound today.

They could have done these things. They chose not to. They chose to let the PC end of things die out. They chose to ignore potential future earnings.

They've made their choice, and I'm sure everyone respects that. I don't think it's a wise choice. I think it's foolish. But it's their choice to make.

But the past happened. They can't turn around and change it now. Nor can they pretend it never happened. Well, they can, but it doesn't alter anything. The MT-32 and the LAPC-1 were real, and remain realities.

The attempt to crush what amounts to digital archaeology is beyond stupid. The only rational explanation is an attempt to conceal the past, to deny their involvement with PCs, by obliterating any trace or reference to the past.

Dear Roland Corp, don't hide from what you've done. Embrace it! It was an amazing success that Roland can - at any time - follow up on. Don't waste dollars chasing emulators of the forgotten and abandoned! Put that money to work for you. Build a soundcard using cutting-edge technology and cutting-edge samples. Utilize the low cost of processor power to add high-quality sound rendering. I promise you that a good product will earn more money for Roland than a bad lawsuit. The first rule of marketing is that every dollar spent should earn you ten. I don't see the technology in question being worth that, even if the people involved had that kind of money. Invest in something that will make you money. Invest in your future. Leave the past alone.